A KINSALE-based councillor has called for a new traffic study to be carried out in the town as the traffic situation becomes even more chaotic with gridlocks becoming the norm in the popular tourist town.
Cllr Marie O’Sullivan (FG) raised the motion at a meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District and pointed out that the last transportation study was carried out in 2009, which she said is now not fit for purpose given the population increase in the town and hinterland since then.
‘There has been a lot of developments since with in excess of 500 new houses, while Kinsale Community School has almost 1,500 students attending there. The town has become chaotic and it’s not a good experience for anyone coming into the town or residing here,’ said Cllr O’Sullivan.
‘There is also the issue of emergency services struggling to get through the town when there is a call out and this is a serious issue.’
Cllr O’Sullivan said that ‘Kinsale remains out on a limb’ and is not on Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s (TII) plans and called for traffic monitors to be installed on all entry and exit points into the town.
‘The creation of the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) has meant that traffic has increased significantly as Kinsale is a starting point on the guide. We need to quantify this and get a plan of action in place.’
Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) seconded the motion, saying that the issues residents are raising now are completely different to those back in 2009 when the last study was carried out.
‘Things have moved on now and we definitely need a study as the existing study is completely out of date. There is now a lot more emphasis on walking and cycling and Kinsale is choking and it’s absolutely outrageous to depend on a study from 15 years ago,’ said Cllr Coleman.
Cllr Ann Bambury (SD) also supported the motion and said that people visiting the town can’t navigate such is the traffic chaos there. She also said it’s also a ‘major headache’ for residents living in the town.
Cllr Gillian Coughlan (FF) said it is also evident that the town has expanded but the roads haven’t kept up with this. She questioned if the Council should continue to grant planning to developers without the scale of roads to match it.
‘The first thing we need is a by-pass ring road to decipher traffic from the town centre and this is imperative,’ said Cllr Coughlan.
Sabrina Tobin, executive engineer for the Kinsale area told councillors that an active travel scheme is being developed for the town, which will see a reduction of cars. She agreed with them that a new study is needed.
